The vet who examined the five-year-old dog last month became suspicious and phoned the ASPCA, which arranged for a necropsy to be conducted on Lola's remains.

"Lola sustained a traumatic brain injury secondary to the application of blunt force to the right side of her head at the hands of the suspect, her owner," ASPCA spokesman Joseph Pentangelo told the New York Post.

Shuttleworth was arrested by the real NYPD at his Queen home on Saturday. If convicted, he faces the possibility of spending up to a year behind bars.

Reached for comment, his wife Isadora called the incident "a horrible accident."